A Golden Nursery

I might be a little biased, but I do think that I have some very talented customers. Every time I see how someone has used one of my cushions or mobiles I get so excited. So you can imagine how I felt when I saw these images from the beautiful nursery Ailee has created for her gorgeous little girl Isla. So pretty!!

You can purchase the ivory pom mobile in my store. Head on over to Ailee's blog to see more gorgeous photos and to get the rest of the product sources.

Easy Gold Accent Pillows - Pinterest Challenge

Over the last couple of days I really ummed and ahhed over whether or not I would join in for this round of the Pinterest Challenge. I really didn't want to miss it because I haven't missed one yet, but time (and my budget) seemed to be working against me. In the end I decided to challenge myself to see what I could make without spending any money (just like I did for the first challenge).

I'm happy to say I did!!

My cushions on my couch have been looking less than impressive lately. The few I had left on there were stained and mismatched... New cushions were well overdue, so I raided my fabric and paint stashes and came up with two new pillows.

It's no secret that I love the combination of gold and white, so inspired by these pins I decided to whip up a couple of gorgeous gold accent pillows.

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Both pillows were super easy and I made them both in just over an hour(plus drying time for the paint).

To make the colour blocked pillow I cut out four pieces of fabric, a 40cm x 40cm piece for the front, two smaller pieces to make up the envelope closure on the back, and a piece of gold lame 1/3 the size of the front piece.

When it came time to make the gold striped pillow I tried out a few different gold paints that I had, the only one that gave me the metallic look I was after was a can of spray paint that I had left over from another project. I taped off the front piece of the cushion with painters tape (using extra bits of tape to make sure my lines were spaced evenly), then sprayed the entire thing with the gold paint. Once it was dry I hemmed the overlapping pieces of fabric for the back and sewed it all up. Easy :)

I'm totally in love with how they turned out and so thrilled that this little mini couch makeover cost me absolutely nothing!! Tonight once my boys fall asleep I'm planning on throwing together a few more pillows for my three seater :).

As always don't forget to go and check out the hosts of the Pinterest Challenge (so excited that one of my fave bloggers Emily from Sparkle Meets Pop is co-hosting this time!!) and see what everyone else has been up to.

Pinterest Challenge Hosts - Emily Katie Sherry and Renee

xo Tamsyn

Check out my previous Pinterest Challenge Projects here

Tufted Headboard - TeePee - Jumbo Ruler - Laundry Gallery Wall - Star Chandelier - Birdie Jar

Valentine's Day Chalkboard

Confession time, I've never decorated for Valentine's Day before. Shocking I know!  ;)

This year I decided to put in a pinch more effort and at least switch up my chalkboard to something a little bit romantic.

I've seen this Beetle's quote floating around pinterest for the last month or so, and then when I saw this desktop background I knew exactly what I wanted on my board.

Seeing as it was a nice and simple design I free-handed it. I just pulled my board down off the wall, worked with it flat on the beach and used a chalk pen. It's not perfect, but it's definitely good enough for me!

There are heaps of great tutorials out there if you're looking to do something a little more elaborate on your chalkboard. This one from Ella Clare shows you how to use grids to create your masterpiece and My Sweet Savannah has a great post about how she traces hers.

Tell me, are you planning on decorating for Valentine's Day or do you stick to the main holidays?

DIY Christmas Ideas + A Giveaway

**This is a sponsored post for 3M via Digital Parents Collective. 

As always, all opinions are my own.**

I love Christmas and I absolutely love decorating for Christmas!! All year round I pin ideas and count down the days until I can crack out the decorations :).

This year I was planning a really rustic and nature inspired Christmas, but with a new baby, a full on three year old and my little shop keeping me busy I ended up with a mix of last years beachy decorations and some new (handmade) rustic ones. The end result is a fresh, fun and laid back Christmas style.

The biggest change this year is that I let Sean and Max decorate the tree. Those of you that know me well will know that is a *really* big deal. I'm normally an absolute control freak when it comes to decorating! They did a really good job though and watching them work together to decorate the tree was absolutely priceless.

You might notice the shell and starfish garland from Max's party is still hanging along the window. It looked perfect with the blues, whites and silvers of the Christmas tree so I decided to keep it up. I hung it using the small 3M command clear hooks. I love that they're completely clear (including the pull down tab), when you stand back you can't even see the hooks, so the focus stays on the garland.

My favourite decoration this year is a rustic burlap and linen wreath that I DIYed. I've been wanting to make one ever since I saw this post, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to it. The wreath makes me smile every time I walk up to the front door! It was super easy to make too.

I started out with a 15 inch foam wreath form, some soft burlap, off-white linen, scissors, hot glue and a paint-brush.

I cut my fabric until little squares, mine were each about 4cm square.

 

To make the wreath I folded each piece of fabric over the end of the paintbrush, added a dab of hot glue to the end and then poked it about one cm into the wreath.

Then I kept going until the entire wreath was covered (with a few breaks along the way to feed Lincoln, my very hungry 5.2 kilo monster baby!!). I love how it turned out!

To hang the wreath I hot glued a long ribbon onto the back of it. The using a small command clear hook (upside down on the back of the door) I looped the ribbon up over the top of the door and then tied it to the hook. Once I was happy with the height it was hanging at I added a sheer silver ribbon over the top of the hook. The 3M hooks are absolutely perfect for using on my big timber door, when it's time to take the wreath down the hook comes off cleanly without taking any of the finish with it. An absolute must in my opinion... I cannot imagine having to re-stain the door, it would be an epic task!

To finish off my decorating I decided to tackle another DIY that I originally saw on pinterest. Using my 3M hooks I made a string tree in our (previously very bare) entry way.

At the point of each 'branch' I used a small command clear hook and then I hung each of the decorations using the decorating clips. I filled the tree with a collection of small baubles and handmade decorations. It was so much fun to make and I love how it fills up my entryway with festive cheer! This is another DIY that I wouldn't have considered with out the 3M hooks, I love that I can put the decorations up without a single nail hole in the wall. Once the 1st of January rolls around you won't even know the string tree was there!

For the DIY decorations I used a combination of these pinwheels that I first saw over at Ella Claire, these ornaments that I debuted over at Chibi Run and the star topper is just made from cardboard, scored and folded and then spray painted silver.

So there you have it, my Christmas decorating done and dusted!

The 3M hooks that I used for my decorating are available in a range of sizes suitable for different weights – including the Mini, Small and Medium hooks as well as the Utensil and Decorating Clips priced from $6.99 (RRP). To see how easily they come off the wall check out this quick 1 minute youtube video (it even has a super cute decorating idea included!).

You can buy command clear hooks at all leading supermarkets and retail outlets across Australia. Or.... you can enter my giveaway and score yourself one of 5 prize packs valued at $36.35 (total value of over $180!).

All you have to do to enter is tell me in 25 words or less what your favourite style of Christmas decorating is. The winners will be drawn at 5pm on the 13th of December and entry is open to all Australian residents. The winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond, so please make sure your comment links to your email address (or include it along with your comment).  {This giveaway has now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered, the winners will be announced shortly.}

Good luck and happy decorating!!

(If you would like to see my decorating from previous years you can click here, here and here.)

Prettying up those Mason Jars

This week I am *officially* on maternity leave (39 weeks, 2 days and counting!), so I'll be re-posting a couple of DIYs from my archives. I also have a HUGE giveaway coming up later in the week, make sure you check back for that soon!

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Recently my sister and her two beautiful girls shifted to Brisbane and moved in with us. From the moment I found out they were coming to stay, all I could think about was that I would finally get the chance to decorate a girls room!

My oldest niece Ava is 6 years old and loves all things girly. Which, when it comes to designing a room is pretty much my dream come true!!

The plan is to start out small, to stick to a very tight budget and to create things that can easily be moved to a new room when they get their own place.

We got started this week and made a little stationary station for Ava to keep her colouring pens and crayons in.

We decided on a tray (which was an old photo frame spray painted white), with a collection of jars to hold her things.

Here's what we came up with...

1. Place strips of double sided tape around the jar up to the height that you want the glitter.
2. Cover all the tape with glitter!
3. *Optional - I went back later and covered the clear glass with painters tape and then sprayed a coat of clear gloss over the top of the glitter. That glitter is definitely staying put!

1. Using puff paint draw your faux bois pattern all over the jar.
2. Once dry spray with several thin coats of white spray paint, letting each coat dry in between.

1. Add double sided tape to the back of a ribbon and attach to the glass.
2. Hot glue a pretty bow to the ribbon.

1. Wrap strips of double sided tape around the jar and then coat with glitter.
2. I did the three gold strips first and then came back and did the two pink ones.

The best part? Ava absolutely loves it!

(First posted January 2012)